Later that night, Derek locked the entrance door when the clock ready 10:55.

Smelly Nelly's was finally deserted. He wasn't taking any chances for a group of inconsiderate assholes to barge in and ruin his plans.

After Casey had woken him up at an ungodly hour on a Saturday morning to announce their monthiversary, Derek hadn't responded in the way Casey anticipated he would.

Derek thought celebrating a month of dating was a waste of time and beyond stupid. After all, he berated Sam relentlessly for it when he and Casey had dated. Derek never thought that she would pull that same crap with him considering they live together, see one another almost every second of every day, and weren't your typical high school relationship that would fizzle out after a month or two.

If they celebrated every month they stayed together, they would be celebrating hundreds and hundreds of anniversaries…and Derek hated shopping. He just couldn't do it. It would be hard enough to plan something once a year, which Derek fully intended to do. After all, he wrote the day down so that he wouldn't forget.

He wrote March 15th on a poster in his bedroom.

He typed March 15th in his computer.

He even wrote March 15th on the bathroom wall while taking a shit.

Derek had every intention of remembering their actual anniversary until he said 'I do' to his neurotic and incredible girl. And once married, he would do the same with their wedding date. He knew that Casey was a hopeless romantic and he wanted her happy. But celebrating a month of dating was about the most pointless thing anyone could do.

A month verses a lifetime…there was no comparison.

That morning, as she continued to kneel on his bed, she asked him what they were doing for their monthiversary. Derek's response had not been what Casey had hoped for.

He said, "I'm working. What are you doing?"

She couldn't believe that he hadn't asked off for the night so that they could celebrate. She ran into her room and locked the door.

What Derek really wanted to do was ignore the entire situation and let Casey's temper tantrum run its course. But instead, Derek had spent the better part of the morning outside of Casey's bedroom trying to get her to come out and talk to him. She wouldn't budged.

So, before he left for work, he had told Nora that when it was a little past 11, to tell Casey to come and pick him up because his car wouldn't start. He then threw all his stepmothers' dinner candles that she kept stored away for company into a grocery sack and brought them along with him to work.

Pablo was in the kitchen finishing up the Duck a l'Orange that Derek asked him to make. He was lucky that the chef at Smelly Nelly's was such a romantic at heart.

It was the dish that Casey was supposed to have for her sixteen birthday before Derek did what he did best; ruin her life. He wanted to party and didn't give a shit what Casey asked for at the time. He tried convincing himself that he was doing her a favor, but in reality, Casey never had been the partying type.

Plus, the emergency appendectomy played a large part in ruining her celebration, too, obviously.

Derek sat the orange duck in the middle of the table, thinking Pablo for cooking the bird while he still had hungry customers to serve. The chef left out the back door and Derek was now waiting for Casey to show up.

He was lighting the last candle when he heard a car horn blaring outside on the front curve. Derek smirked.

Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeep.

Derek sat in the chair, placing his hands behind his head, and stared at the entrance for several minutes, waiting. As expected, Casey slammed the car door shut before stomping to the front entry. She began pounding, clearly still angry from their early morning disagreement.

Derek walked slowly over to where she stood, looking at her through the glass, an amused expression on his face. She had on her pajama bottoms and bunny slippers with a sweatshirt thrown over her matching top. Derek placed a hand on the door-frame, peeking at her from underneath his bangs.

"Open the door, Derek!" she barked, glaring at him with annoyed anger.

"I'm not sure that I should, Princess. After all, you wouldn't open the door for me this morning."

"Suit yourself!" Casey said. "Have fun walking home."

Casey turned around and started for the car. Usually, Derek knew that she wouldn't just leave him, but in her current state of 'pissed off,' he had a feeling she just might. Of course, his car was running just fine, but he didn't have Pablo cook a damn gourmet meal for nothing.

Derek unlocked the door and reached out, grabbing Casey by her arm. She fought him just as he had anticipated, but it took little effort to pull him feisty girlfriend into the building, relocking it behind them.

"Hey!" she protested, yanking her body from his grasp. It was in that moment that she turned around and saw the dimly lit restaurant illuminated with candles, a tiny table for two sitting in the center, her perfect meal placed on top. She became quiet. Derek waited for her response, watching her closely.

"What's all this?" Casey asked in a hushed whisper.

Derek went to stand behind Casey. Wrapping his arms around her small waste, he placed a tender kiss behind her ear. Her obvious anger had all but subsided within seconds as she took in the romantic setting before her. "Happy monthiversary, beautiful."

Derek heard a sob escape Casey's lips, and while he hated it when she cried, this was different. She turned around in his arms, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him. Their lips crashed together, and he savored the moment for all it was worth.

It was moments like these that made life worth living.

His brain fast forwarded to their life before them. The fights that were bound to happen, the anger and the tears, the rough patched that would lead them to making up. Making up would always be the best part.

He also thought about the laughs they would share and the memories they would produce; the babies they would make and how fun that would inevitably be.

Of course, he had no intention of saying that to Casey quite yet. She was still a prude for the meantime, but he fully intended to break her of that sooner rather than later.

"I thought you said monthiversaries were stupid?" Casey asked once they broke their kiss.

"I still stand by that," Derek stated. "But what's not stupid is how much I love you. I'm sorry I didn't take it more seriously and I promise to do better in the future."

She smiled up at him. "Thank you."

"And you have to promise me something in return."

"What's that?" she asked, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"Promise me you'll lighten up a little bit. I'm trying, Case. But it's going to take some time before you properly train me to be the perfect boyfriend."

"I'll try," she said, a twinkle in her eye.

Derek stepped away slowly, going behind the counter to turn on the music, soon filling the restaurant with a corny Jason Mraz song that he had picked out specifically for him and Casey.

He really did have it bad.

"Dance with me." Derek said, holding his hand out. He wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

Casey placed her fingers into his, a beautiful smile lighting up her flawless face. Derek brought her into his arms, holding her close. They began to sway to the music, quietly enjoying the moment…and every moment that had led up to this one perfect second in time.

Derek pulled back slightly, placing a finger underneath Casey's chin to bring her blues eyes upward to meet his own dark one. They were like fire and ice, cats and dogs, toothpaste and orange juice. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

"I will always love you, Casey. Count on it."

"I love you, Derek," she said softly, lifting her lips up to meet his own once more as they continued swaying to the music, holding tight.

Epilogue

3 years later

Derek laid in bed, quietly listen to Casey's breathing slow as she drifted off to sleep.

The past three years had been a whirlwind of emotions, triumphs, tears, and joy. Life was truly incredible.

Six months after their parent's separation, Nora and George reconciled, putting the past behind them. Derek's Mom had moved back to London as anticipated, and it was difficult to continue co-parenting when she had nearly destroyed all their lives. To this day, Derek had a strained relationship with Abby. She was the reason that Casey almost left him, and he couldn't find it within himself to forgive her.

Even Casey had tried to get him to reconcile with his mother despite what she had done behind Nora's back, but Derek flat out refused.

He'd spoken to Abby three times in the past few years; at his high school graduation, on his wedding day, and when he had broken down and called her to let her know she was going to be a grandmother.

Derek placed a gentle hand on Casey's swollen belly, hoping to feel any kind of movement. His wife was six months pregnant and they were having a baby girl.

He was scared as hell, but he would never let Casey know that.

Derek had asked Casey to marry him at their senior prom, of all places. It kind of just happened. They were dancing and she looked so beautiful, he couldn't hold it back. She laughed, not believing for a moment that he was serious. And then when she realized how sincere he was, she had surprised them both by saying 'yes.'

Naturally, Nora had been angry about the announcement and said that she expected it to be a very very very long engagement; that they better not even think about getting married until after college. It had seemed reasonable at the time, but the thought of waiting years was too much to bear. Despite their parent's objections, they married during their freshman year at Queens University.

Now they were living a mile from campus in their tiny apartment, waiting patiently for their little bundle to arrive. Money was tight, obviously, and a baby hadn't been in the cards. Derek had a full-time job while Casey worked part-time in the midst of going to class for their Sophomore year. They really had planned on waiting to start a family in the far distant future, but life had a different idea. If it weren't for Dennis sending them occasional cash, Derek wasn't sure they would make it. He hated having to accept handouts and Casey always went behind his back to ask her dad for extra money.

It made him feel lesser than because he couldn't provide for Casey and the new baby. But any time he dared to open his mouth about having money issues, everyone would throw it back in face, saying that that's what he gets for marrying her while they were too young to do so. It bothered Derek that George and Nora hadn't been happy about the baby either.

If truth be told, Derek had been worried and scared as hell when Casey told him, too. But he plastered the biggest smile on his face and held her tight because he didn't want her to panic.

The only thing that he's ever wanted for Casey was for her to be happy. And worrying about money and their future was not something Derek wished for her; especially when she should be enjoying her pregnancy and not letting it pass by.

Derek rested his head against hers, breathing in that same sweet vanilla scent that had always driven his senses wild.

How did he get so lucky?

What had he done right?

Life was just beginning, and he vowed to never take advantage of the girl he'd been given.

A/N: I want to give a shout out to those who took the time to review every chapter written. Thank you! This is officially my most reviewed story to date and I appreciate the feedback and encouragement. It means a lot. Everyone's kind words inspired me to update frequently and finish quickly without it sitting around for years incomplete, which has happened before lol. I'm sure all of us fanfiction writers do it. Please follow me for future Dasey stories that I will inevitably write.